PetStyle

The British Shorthairs? origins are those of the native working cats, the street and yard cats of Britain. The early British Shorthair and French Charteux were of similar type; many breeders think they were originally the same cat. Today, breeders have taken great care to produce two distinct breeds, to be judged separately.Ancestors of the British Shorthairs survived years of superstition and persecution in past centuries, when thousands of cats were killed. It is a marvel that this wonderful, sweet-tempered cat is still around for the whole world to enjoy.Many shorthairs were shown at the Crystal Palace in 1895. They held the limelight for about a year at the show, until the Persian took over. British Shorthairs were to remain out of favor until the 1930s when a small number of dedicated breeders took and interest in them. Mr. Harrison Weir, of early cat fancy fame wrote, ? The ordinary garden cat has survived every kind of hardship and persecution. That he exists at all is a tribute to his strength and character and endurance?.In the United States, the early British Shorthairs were called the British Blues, as blue was the only recognized color. They were not as defined as British Shorthairs of today, and relied more on size and plush coats for their wins than on type. In the 1970s a cat named Mary Poppins caught the cat fancy?s eye. She was a blue tortie, much smaller than her peers. But she had the look, the full cheeks, the round muzzle and a sweet appealing air

The Bombay, a man-made breed, was created by breeding a Burmese to a Black American Shorthair in 1958. It was not given championship status until 1976. Bombays are often referred to as the small black panthers of the cat fancy world, with their black shinning coats and large, round glowing copper eyes.Black is the only accepted color, Bombays carrying the sepia gene may produce sepia kittens. In TICA, these sepia kittens are shown with the Burmese.

Although cats with wiry coats were reported in Britain and elsewhere following Word War 11, no breed was established. A litter with wirehaired kittens was born in 1967 to a pair of farm cats in upstate New York. Breeders took over the careful planning of a breeding program by first breeding the male form this litter (a red and white kitten who had a wire haired coat and was named Adam) to his littermate, whose coat was straight. After two generations, a ?true? Wirehair kitten was born in 1969. All American Wirehairs trace their ancestry to Adam. To improve type and vigor, breeders used American Shorthairs in their breeding programs.

The Australian Tiffanie was developed from the Burmilla breeding program - being the semi-longhair progeny ... undesirable for Burmilla breeding ... but exquisitely beautiful in its own right.In the late 1990's a group of dedicated breeders in NSW decided to apply for the right to develop the breed ... and the Australian Tiffanie was born. This breed combines all the beauty of the Chinchilla Persian with the extraordinary personality of the Burmese.

Early Balinese cats were reported to the product of Siamese-to-Siamese breeding. They were not a sudden mutation, but a result of pairing of recessive longhair genes. The most likely introductions of the longhair gene into the Siamese gene pool took place in England during the World Wars, when it was necessary for breeders to outcross in order to retain a part of their bloodlines. Turkish Angoras would have been likely candidates for outcrossing, as the type is similar. At first, breeders could do nothing with the longhair kittens. They could not sell or show them; if entered in a show, the cats would be disqualified as Siamese because of their long coat. Balinese were eventually accepted, and were granted championship status in the 1970?s.

The first deliberate cross is believed to have taken place in 1963, but the breeding program initiated by Jean Mill was suspended and not reactivated until 1981 when Dr. Willard Centerwall entered into a partnership with Mill. The Bengal first appeared on the show circuit in 1985. The Asian leopard cat resembles a small ocelot, With longish large spots and stripes, and weights about ten pounds. It is wild and cannot be tamed. Occasionally, a male leopard cat will accept a domestic cat and breed with her. The result of these breeding is a Bengal. The goal of the Bengal breeding program is to create a domestic cat which has physical features distinctive to the small forest-dwelling wild cats, but with the loving, dependable temperament of the domestic cat.